ancestry

the family or the race of people that you come fromto have Scottish ancestryHe was able to trace his ancestry back over 1 000 years.See related entries:Family backgroundWord OriginMiddle English: alteration of Old Frenchancesserie, from ancestre, from Latinantecessor, from antecedere, from ante

‘before’

+ cedere

‘go’

.Extra examplesHumans share a common ancestry with chimpanzees.She shares a common ancestry with the Queen.The company claims an ancestry going back to 1727.The two species have developed from a common ancestry.We can trace our ancestry back to the 16th century.His eyes owed their startling blueness to his Irish ancestry.